Family

Earth Day is next Sunday, April 22nd. What are you doing to celebrate our planet this month? If you need ideas, you’ve come to the right place! I’ve collected ten simple and fun ideas to help your kids celebrate the Earth, while also learning to care for and appreciate her.

Grown Your Own– Nothing makes you appreciate nature like growing your own flowers or fruits and vegetables. You can even start small with an indoor herb garden. You can buy seeds for only 25 cents at the Dollar Tree.

Be a Trash Collector- You can make picking up litter a lot of fun. All you need is a grabber toy like this one. Take a walk around your neighborhood and use the grabber to pick up any litter you see. Talk about what would happen if everyone just threw their trash outside instead of in a trash can.

Feed the Birds– Try making one of these homemade bird feeders and then spend some time outside observing the birds. Talk to your kids about what they’re seeing and how you are helping the birds. Ask them where the birds would be getting their food if they didn’t have the bird feeder.

Cheerio Bird Feeder– This is a great one because kids are able to eat the materials and it doubles as a fine motor activity.

Gelatin Natural Feeder-This feeder is nut-free and seems very quick and easy to make.

Any of these other 12 ideas from The Realistic Mama

Try These Upcycled Crafts- Talk to your kids about how reusing materials gives them a second life!

• Pouch Cap Insects
• Soda Bottle Watering Cans
• Earth Day Tambourine
• Earth Crayons

Decorate Your World- Continue the tradition of RVA Rocks in an even more local way by painting rocks and scattering them around your neighborhood. While you’re out walking around, come up with a list of the other things that make your neighborhood beautiful.

Go Exploring with a Nature Scavenger Hunt– Help your kids discover the wonders of nature that they may not always notice. Use one of these scavenger hunts or create your own.

• Scavenger Hunt from Trish Sutton
• Scavenger Hunt from The Taylor House

Visit a Local Farmer’s Market to Eat the Rainbow– Check out this comprehensive list of local farmer’s markets and plan your visit soon! My favorite are Lakeside, St. Stephen’s and South of the James. Purchase some new colorful fruits and vegetables. Chop them and put them all on a plate and encourage your child to try something new. Explain that all of the new healthy food came from the earth and see if they can come up with other wonderful things that they know come from the earth. This episode of Daniel Tiger always helped my veggie hating daughter to give new food a try.

Heal the Earth– Read the book, Heal the Earth by Julian Lennon, and then draw a large Earth on a piece of paper. Talk to your children about ways they can heal the Earth and write down what they say on the paper. Buy a cheap box of bandaids at the Dollar Tree. Let your kids put a bandaid onto the Earth drawing every time they come up with a way to heal.

Make a Nature Collage– Use contact paper to make this simple and beautiful nature collage. Go out on a nature hunt and have your kids collect flowers, leaves, sticks, pebbles, etc. Then follow the directions here to turn their  treasures into a keepsake.

Celebrate with Snack Time- Try one of these delicious  and adorable snack ideas.

• Earth Day Popcorn
• Classic Ants on a Log
• Tree Snack-Make a tree out using small pretzel sticks for the trunk and branches and sliced grapes for the leaves.
• Earth Day Smoothies

If you live in RVA, don’t forget to check out the local events happening this month:

Earth Day at Maymont– Saturday, April 21st 10 am-12 pm-Registration required.

Sheep to Shawl– Saturday, April 21st 12-4 at Crump Park, FREE- Watch them sheer the sheep, and enjoy live music and food outside in nature.

RVA Earth Day Festival– Saturday, April 21st 12-7 pm-This street festival features local artisans, musicians, food and drink and is located in Richmond’s Manchester neighborhood.

Earth Day of Service– Saturday, April 21st 9 am-12 pm. This service day was organized by the Enrichmond Foundation. You can volunteer to clean up local green spaces. Choose which location in Richmond you’d like to volunteer and sign up here.

Hardywood’s Spring Bada Bing-Saturday, April 21st 11 am-6 pm- Celebrate Earth Day by visiting all of the amazing local artisans that this awesome event has to offer! The event is at their old location on Ownby Lane.

Happy Earth Day!

♥ Erin

It’s finally starting to feel like spring around here! What better way to celebrate this warmer weather than visiting one of our many local parks and playground. Check out our guide below:

The Best Local RVA Parks and Playgrounds:

*Click on each park link for address, hours and more information.

Armour House and Gardens

East End/Mechanicsville/Hanover

Pole Green Park– This 232-acre park has many amenities including softball fields, soccer field, football field, a skate park, tot lots, playgrounds, and more.  The Pole Green Community Center located in the park also has various parks and recreation programs.  Pole Green Park also has a unique feature for horse owners.  The park has an equestrian ring and stable.

Courthouse Park– This Hanover park offers a great playground, walking trails and a fishing pond with a floating dock. Another special feature of this park is the roller hockey rink.

Eastern Henrico Recreation Center Sprayground– This sprayground is open from Memorial Day through the end of September. The recreation center also offers countless other programs and activities to Henrico residents.

Armour House and Gardens– This beautiful Victorian style home is located directly behind Arthur Ashe Elementary School. The surrounding property boasts a scenic walking trail, tennis courts, a garden, flowing fountain surrounded by arbors with blooming vines, and children’s gardens and play areas.

Dorey Park– This park includes a large pond with walking trail, meandering walkways through the woods, a playground, and open space as well as a gazebo and picnic shelters. Dorey Park also has an off-leash dog park, 1 acre in size, with 5 foot enclosed fence with two areas – one for small dogs and the other for larger dogs. A variety of classes and events are offered for both children and adults throughout the year.

Twin Hickory Park and Splash Pad

West End

Deep Run Park-Deep Run Recreation Center is located within the beautiful Deep Run Park. The park includes ponds, walkways, playgrounds, and open space as well as a gazebo. A variety of classes and events are offered for both children and adults throughout the year.

Meadow Farm Museum and Crump Park– A perfect park for families interested in history and nature.  The Meadow Farm Museum offers many programs throughout the year such as farmhouse tours, animal tours, leisure games, and more!  Crump Park is also used by the Glen Allen community for events like Glen Allen Day.

Twin Hickory Playground & Splash Pad– This park opened in July 2014. It features walking trails, open play areas, a multi-purpose field,  a picnic shelter with restrooms, a playground for ages 2-5 and one for ages 6-12.  The most unique characteristic of the park is the “sprayground,” a small, whimsical, zero-depth water play feature intended for children 12 or under with adult supervision.

Short Pump Park & Splash Pad– This park includes a dog park, spray fountains, athletic fields, play equipment, picnic facilities, and a restored 1902 two-room schoolhouse.

Cheswick Park– Cheswick, located directly across from Henrico Doctor’s Hospital, is Henrico’s oldest neighborhood park. It’s hardly ever crowded, but it’s play areas and shaded walking trails make this park a hidden gem. It’s a little hard to spot from Forest Ave., but once you get there, you’ll be glad you found it!

Dunncroft/Castle Point Park– Located at the entrance to Hungary Creek Middle School, this park features trails, picnic area and shelter, play area and equipment, and a nine-hole disc golf course.

Pony Pasture

Southside

Pony Pasture-This is an insanely popular outdoor spot for Richmond locals. If you’re into swimming, rafting, kayaking, picnicking or hiking – you couldn’t find a more amenable spot for your traveling family. Expect to find scenic beauty with big rocks and small rapids. Parking gets crazy in the summer, so plan to pull into the Pony Pasture parking lot by 11 a.m.. Closes at sunset.

Stony Point Fashion Park Splash Pad– A splash pad right in the middle of the upscale shops of Stony Point and with a Starbucks within shouting distance? Yes, please!

Rockwood Nature Center- This is the only county-operated nature center in Chesterfield. The log cabin-style building is home to an array of native reptiles and amphibians as well as a honeybee hive and visual informative displays and sits in front of over five miles of paved and unpaved trails.

Forest Hill Park– The park consists of the historic Stone House, a lake, tennis courts, picnic shelters, a children’s playground, and many paths and trails are popular for walking and jogging.  It is well known as a popular sledding site anytime it snows in Richmond, and during the summer months Sunday concerts are hosted in the park as well as the South of the James Market, a farmer’s market held on Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., typically from May through November or sometimes into December.

Huguenot Park– This park includes an azalea garden, fitness trail, picnic shelters, play equipment, restrooms, tennis and basketball courts, and fields for soccer and football. The playground is great for families with young children because the playground is fenced off to keep wandering toddlers in!

Rockwood Park– Chesterfield’s oldest park features a complex of ball fields and game courts, a nature center, an archery range, Ruff House Dog Park, garden plots and an extensive system of hard and soft surface nature trails.

Pocahontas State Park– Just 20 miles from Richmond, Pocahontas offers boating, picnicking, camping, camping cabins, 64-plus miles of trails, and nature and history programs. The Aquatic Center, which has a toddler pool, fountain wet deck, three-foot and five-foot-deep leisure pools, an activity pool and two tubular water slides, affords seasonal water-based activities for all.The park’s 2,000-seat amphitheater hosts the Pocahontas Premieres series of concerts and family-friendly entertainment.

Three Lakes Park

Northside

Three Lakes Park and Nature Center– This park offers both indoor and outdoor fun! You can visit the nature center to see local wildlife like fish, turtles, snakes, etc. and then go outside and play on their large playground. They also have various programs and activities scheduled throughout the year.

Bryan Park– Bryan Park was a gift to the City from the Joseph Bryan family in 1910. It has two picnic shelters, lovely Azalea Gardens, 4 tennis courts, soccer fields, tot lot, wooded areas, walking and running trails, lakes for fishing [license required], open spaces, a sledding hill and more.

Arc Park

Richmond Central

ARC Park– This is my favorite park in RVA! The ARCpark is the first of its kind in Central Virginia. It offers 3 playgrounds for toddlers, school-aged kids and every-age, a wheel-chair accessible treehouse with an extra-wide ramp, a custom-built, multi-sensory wall with panels that stimulate touch, hearing and sight, a play house, a small stage, water troughs and music instruments for creative play, water misting stations, charging stations for electric wheelchairs, family restrooms and shade picnic areas.

Byrd Park– This park offers three lakes for fishing [license required], peddle boat rides [call 646-5713 for details], 2 picnic shelters, Little League Ball fields, 12 tennis courts, an exercise trail, lighted areas, a Vita exercise course,  and the Dogwood Dell amphitheater where the  Festival of Arts is held June through August.

Maymont Park– This 100-acre Victorian estate, once home of Major James H. Dooley, is now operated by the Maymont Foundation. It has a wonderful nature center for the kids (and grownups!), petting zoo, museum house and Japanese Gardens. There are also tram and carriage rides.

Canal Walk– This downtown walk, which stretches for more than a mile along the James River and the Kanawha and Haxall canals, leads you through nearly four centuries of Richmond’s history. Filled with statues, monuments, and plaques that describe various events and people who helped to shape our city, the Canal Walk is a great way to get everyone out for a day of sunshine and exercise, while offering plenty to see and do.

Belle Isle– This 540 acre island is known for its outdoor offerings, which range from strolling and picnicking to running, mountain biking, whitewater rafting, kayaking and canoeing. A running and bicycling path circles the island, offering easy access to popular sunbathing and wading spots. Fishing is also popular in the waters surrounding the island.

Mary Munford Playground– This wooden playground, located at Mary Munford Elementary School, is special because of it’s castle-like structures. It also has a play area for students with special needs.

For info on even more local parks, recreation, classes and summer camps follow these links:

Henrico

Hanover

Chesterfield

Richmond City

Enjoy the outdoors, ladies!

♥ Erin

Hey Parents, if you’re stumped on what to get your kids’ teachers this year, I got you covered. After living with teachers my entire life and then becoming one myself, I’m sort of an expert on the subject. There are tons of #1 teacher ornaments, mugs and knick-knacks out there, not to mention all of the apple-themed gifts. Also, now that we live in the world of Pinterest, there is also shit like this:

I mean, who has the time?

And this:

Are you frickin’ kiddin’ me?

But before you break out the glue gun and glitter, please take a minute to think it through. Imagine a first year teacher with 18 kids in his or her classroom. Now imagine if each year, for his or her first five years of teaching, half of those kids gifted the teacher ornaments for Christmas. That’s already 45 ornaments! My mom taught elementary school for over thirty years. Just sit back and try to imagine the sheer volume of knick knacks and tchotchkes! Half of our Christmas ornaments were adorned with apples, for God’s sake! It was overwhelming!

This year, please put down that ornament and show your appreciation for your child’s teacher with a gift that they will appreciate as well.

Four Gifts Teachers Love To Get:

1.) Gift cards- This may seem impersonal, but you know what, the teacher isn’t a friend or relative so impersonal is ok! To make it more personal you can find out about their interests and then get a gift card tailored to them. Our school has teachers fill out a form like this one at the beginning of the year to help with gift ideas. Last year, I used these funny gift tags, and they were a big hit.

2.) Personal Notes From You or Your Child- Eleven years ago, when I was in my second year of teaching, one of my parents wrote me a short note telling me how much I helped her son that year. I teared up when I read it, and I still have it. Teachers don’t go into education for the glamour or the money, and it’s often a pretty thankless job day after day. Telling him or her how important they are and what a difference they’ve made can really make a teacher’s day.

3.) Gifts for the classroom– Ask the teacher what they need the most right now and then go out and purchase those things. Teachers are often going out and buying school supplies with their own money. You can save their money and their valuable time by taking care of this for them.

4.) Edible Gifts– My mom got a delicious cranberry loaf every Christmas, and I looked forward to eating that thing pretty much all year! If you have something special that you love to make; cookies, fudge, toffee, etc. that’s something special that you can share with the teachers. You can also use the list I posted above to find out your teacher’s favorite foods and provide them a basket with three or four of those favorites. Be sure to check for any allergies or sugar restrictions.

Happy Holidays and Happy Gifting!

♥ Erin

Being sick during the holidays is the worst! Back when I was a single lady, oh so many years ago, I almost never got sick. (I also had a waist and nice things in my house, but that’s a story for another time.) Now that I have three kids under eight, it’s a lot harder to stay healthy! I’d have to make my kids wash their hands every 10 minutes if I really wanted to keep our house germ-free. One of them always has their hands down their pants, scratching their tushies, and then they inevitably touch everything.

UGH! Now that I’ve gotten you completely disgusted, special apologies to you mamas of infants who aren’t mini germ factories yet, let’s talk about how to keep our kids and ourselves healthy this winter.

TEN TIPS FOR A HEALTHIER HOLIDAY SEASON

1. Wash Hands Each Time You Come Home. Most kids learn to wash their hands after going to the bathroom and before they eat, but this is another good routine for them to learn. When you return home from holiday shopping, school parties, or any other event out of your house: wash those hands! When I started making my kids do this it really cut down on the sick days in our house.
2. When You Wash, Do It Right. I’m going to get on my soapbox here for a minute because I feel like this is the cause of so much illness, especially at schools.  To properly de-germ your hands, you need to wash with soap for at least a FULL 20 seconds, rinse and dry. My kids love to just run their hands under the water and then claim that they’ve washed. They might as well not be washing at all because they’re just wasting water! Rant over.

1. Eat the Rainbow at Every Meal. Make sure kids are getting at least one serving of colorful, vitamin-filled fruits and veggies every time they sit down to eat. Keep experimenting with new types they haven’t tried before until you find something they like. My son never liked the usual banana, apple, or baby carrot but loves mango, blackberries and kale.
2. Stay Hydrated. To make this more fun, take your child to pick out their own special water bottle. If they don’t enjoy drinking water, let them choose something to help flavor it like lemon or mint. For older toddlers and children, check out this app, Plant Nanny. You get to create a plant that grows as you log the water that you’re drinking.
3. Use Your Germ Catcher. As soon as a child is old enough to understand you, teach them to use their elbow as their “germ catcher” when they need to sneeze or cough.
4. Discourage Sharing Cups and Utensils. This is a tough one because it feels like we’re sending our young children mixed messages. Aren’t we always encouraging them to share their things with their siblings and friends? It’s important to explain to them that our mouths can contain viruses and bacteria that, while not harmful to us, can make our friends and family sick. That is something they do not want to share.
5. Vitamin D for Everyone!  It’s a crucial ingredient for our immune systems, and we often don’t get enough of it during the winter months. Try these chewables for kids 2 and up or these drops for babies.
6. Try Elderberry Syrup. My MIL swears by those zinc tablets to stop or minimize a cold. Well, a spoonful of this does the same thing for kids. It’s pretty cheap on Amazon and you can keep a bottle in your fridge for up to a year. Reach for it whenever you sense sickness coming on.
7. Sleep, Sleep, Sleep. Kids are less likely to get sick when they’re well-rested. Encourage deep sleep by trying this tip from Becca Campbell at Little Z’s Sleep Consulting: Add magnesium-rich Epsom salts to your child’s bath. Magnesium has been proven to reduce anxiety symptoms and calm the nervous system, promoting sound sleep. You can also add a few drop of lavender essential oil to make an even more relaxing bath.
8. Help Kids Destress. It’s been proven that stress can weaken your immune system. It’s never to early to teach children to relax with deep breathing exercises and meditation. My kids love Head Space and Insight Timer’s guided meditations that are tailored to them.
   

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Aww, that’s sweet, Ryan, but let’s prevent that shit instead!

Wishing you and yours a happy and HEALTHY holiday!

♥ Erin

October is  here and I’m excited because it’s my favorite month. I frickin’ love Halloween! I love it so much that I even married someone with a Halloween birthday. In addition to celebrating with our kids, we’ve been having an adults-only costume party for the past nine years that we lovingly refer to as October-Faced. My friend and neighbor, Christy, and I love any excuse for a party. Our husbands both have October birthdays, so the party doubles as a celebration for them and we take turns hosting each year.

If you have an adult party to go to this Halloween, here are some of my favorite costume ideas from over the past nine years.

Solo Costumes:

Momma To Be Costumes:

Couples Costumes:

Stairway to Heaven and Highway to Hell

Group Costumes:

I hope these ideas will help to get your creative juices flowing, and mine too, for that matter. I have no idea what we’re going to do this year! I’ll keep you posted. Happy October!

♥ Erin

          We’ve been managing(ish) the school morning craziness for just over three weeks now and, let me tell you, the struggle is real. This is especially true for our kindergartner who sleeps like the dead and eats almost as slowly. I’ve been trying out some new things to help us all get through the morning and get my kids onto the school bus on time. Number five, in particular, has been a major time-saver. Check them out below:

1. We have the kids lay out all of their clothes before bed each night, shoes too! They waste a lot of time deciding on shoes and then, of course, searching for those shoes that they just have to wear.
2. We put the kids resource schedule on the fridge. Maybe by mid-year I’ll remember who has library and PE on which days, but not today. Until then, this visual will remind me who needs tennis shoes, books, etc. each day.
3. The kids and I worked together to create the responsibilities chart below. They earn one star in the morning and one in the afternoon if they complete all of their morning and afternoon responsibilities. They can use these stars to earn rewards. Two stars will get them a lot less than twenty stars, but they will have the choice between instant gratification or saving to earn something larger.  They only earn the stars when I don’t have to remind them of what they need to do.
4. My kids choose and pack their school snacks when they get home from school each day. They get off the bus ravenous so, while they’re picking out a snack to eat at home, I have them choose another one for school the next day and pack it in their bags.
5. I created a simple poster where the kids can pick their breakfast and lunch choices the night before. I know this sounds a bit like I’m running a restaurant, but we wasted so much time every morning asking the kids what they wanted for breakfast and in their lunches. When you only have 45 minutes to get everything done in the morning, every minute you save is a big deal. My kindergartner isn’t reading yet, so I also drew pictures of about five different choices for each meal. Before we go up to bed each night, the kids make their choices by adding their initials in pencil next to the items they’d like. This is one of their daily responsibilities. This has been a game-changer!! My husband or I can get up a few minutes before the kids to get meals made, and we don’t have to listen to tantrums about how we didn’t make what they wanted. There is a lot less yelling in our house these days.

These tips give my kids the power of choice, but the choices are all things that my husband and I can live with because we were the ones that set them up. I like that my kids are learning to be more responsible through this and to see that their actions have consequences.

Good luck with the morning hustle! As the school year goes on, it does get better. Until it does, keep on keeping on, my exhausted friends!

♥ Erin

On the afternoon of the very first day of school, my kids’ beloved bus driver passed away suddenly. He dropped them off earlier that day, and then, just over an hour later, he was gone. I found myself struggling with grief for this man who was so kind and patient with our kids, who I’d only just spoken to, who was younger than my parents. What was I going to say to my kids? I wanted to be as honest with them as I could, but not traumatize them. This was the first time either of us had lost someone they’d known well, someone who they saw almost daily.

When the school sent out an email to let us know of his passing, they were thoughtful and kind enough to include information from Full Circle Grief Center on how to talk to our kids about death. This info really helped me to put my thoughts into words and to know what to look out for. I thought I’d share what I learned here.

1. Be Honest and Use Clear Language- Use the words dying or dead, instead of confusing terms like, He passed away, We lost him, etc.
2. Encourage Them To Ask Questions- Answer as honestly and clearly as you can. I gently asked my son if he had questions several times throughout the course of the day before he opened up.
3. Share Your Feelings- I usually try not to cry in front of my kids, but they recommend letting your kids see that you’re sad and not trying to hide your tears. It can make them feel less alone when they know you’re hurting too.
4. All Feelings Should Be Welcomed- Kids may feel anger, fear, or even seem like they feel nothing at all, instead of feeling grief. They may be feeling multiple feelings at once or experience different feelings as time passes. Let them know that it’s ok to express whatever feelings they’re having, good or bad.
5. Be Patient and Observant- Give your child time to process the news. They may want to talk, but it may take them hours or days to feel ready to put their feelings into words. My son is not very verbal about his feelings, but I noticed that he’d been acting oddly all day, kind of goofy, jumpy, etc. I finally just told him to come sit on my lap and gently asked him what was going on and that’s when he opened up and started to ask questions.
6. Talk To Them About Safety- Death, especially a sudden death like this one, can make kids feel unsafe. That’s one of the things my son said to me. He had lots of questions about bad guys and even guns. It’s important to remind kids of everything in their lives that is keeping them safe: loving parents, a house with locks, seat belts, etc.
7. Create A Way to Honor The Person Who Died-Brainstorm with your kids to find a special way to remember the person you’ve lost. My kids decided to plant some seeds in our garden and rename our garden gnome after their bus driver.

The sudden death of this special man has shaken us all this week. The silver lining (Sometimes you have to look really hard.) is that it’s also taught us to remember that life is fragile and precious. We all need to remember how much we love each other every day and act accordingly. This had been said many times before, but please hug your family close tonight, call your grandmother, send a text to your  step-brother, pass on the loving legacy of this man taken from the world too soon. Thank you.

Erin

Hey friends, I just got back from a four day trip to San Diego with my 7 and 5 year old. My brother and his girlfriend have been living there for two years and we finally got to come for a visit! Money has been a bit tight lately, so I was scrambling for things to do and places to eat that didn’t have California-sized price tags. We skipped all the big and pricey attractions like Legoland, Sea World and even their world-famous zoo. (I was disappointed about that last one because I’d really wanted to go, but my kids were not into it.) Here is the best of what I found:

Where to stay:

Springhill Suites Downtown/Bayside– 900 Bayfront Court San Diego, California 92101

Walking into this hotel, I was surprised by how beautifully appointed it was.  In our room there were floor to ceiling windows with views of the bay, a super comfortable king-sized bed and a sleeper sofa and an over-sized desk separating the two sleeping areas. There was also a small fridge and microwave. They offered a complimentary breakfast buffet with eggs, waffle bar, oatmeal, fruit, etc. They also served coffee, water and fruit all day. The pool was small, but it was on the fifth floor with a gorgeous view of the downtown skyline. My favorite thing about it was the location. It was within walking distance to many attractions including: Seaport Village, USS Midway Museum, Maritime Museum, Gaslamp District and Little Italy.

Cost: It varies depending on the season and day of the week, but the price was very reasonable and in an outstanding location.

Where to eat:

Free hotel breakfast buffet-You can’t do better than free, and this buffet had plenty of choices and good coffee.

Landini’s Pizzeria-1827 India Street, San Diego, CA, 92101

Hours: Sunday-Wednesday 11 am-11 pm, Thursdays open until 1 am and Friday and Saturday ’til 2 am

This place sells pizza by the slice, pasta, calzones and paninis, and also has a great local beer selection. You order at a counter in the front and then you can sit inside or on their covered back patio. We stopped there for dinner right after we arrived and the owner was so kind and accommodating to my travel-weary, bitchy kids that he has made us customers for life. It didn’t hurt that the spaghetti bolognese V and I shared was some of the best I’ve ever had.

Cost: $30.00 for dinner for 4

Papalecco-1602 State Street, San Diego, CA 92101

Hours: Monday-Thursday 7 am-10:15 pm Friday:  7am–11:00pm, Saturday:  7:30am–11:00pm, Sunday:  7:30am–10:15pm  (Winner of most interesting hours award.)

Their gelato was amazing!! I don’t use the word amazeballs because I think I’m too old for the word, but if I did, I would use it to describe this gelato. The man who served us was so sweet and let my kids try as many flavors as they wanted. They make it with only five ingredients and it is creamy and delicious. They also sell amazing looking pastries, coffee drinks and my favorite dessert affogatto, which if you’re not familiar is a cup of espresso with a scoop of gelato inside. Molto Buono!

Cost: About $18.00 for four cups

Rubios-We went to this one: 10460 Friars Road San Diego CA, 92120, but there are many locations all over California.

Hours: 10-9 pm daily

This is a local chain that offers tacos, including fish and shrimp, salads, rice bowls and a great salsa bar. The feel inside is similar to a Chipotle, but their seafood is fresh and their prices are good.

Cost: $27.00 for dinner for 3

Little Italy Mercato-West Cedar Street from Kettner Boulevard to Front Street.

Hours: Every Saturday 8 am-2 pm year-round

We LOVED this farmer’s market! It’s about 4 or 5 blocks long and has everything you can think of. The vendors were so nice to my kids and made them feel welcome everywhere they went. They sampled olive oil, 5 different kinds of honey, cheesecake, ginger tea, cake pops, green smoothies, and the most delicious vegan cheddar garlic croutons. Vegan croutons, really? Yes, really, you weren’t there, and they were amazing!!

Cost: Free to sample. We spent around $30 on iced coffee for me, flowers and pastries for my brother and his girlfriend and honey bears for the kids.

What to do:

USS Midway Museum– 910 N Harbor Dr, San Diego, CA 92101

Hours: 10-5 daily

The kids and I had a great time going aboard and exploring this gigantic ship and all of its different quarters. The ship is one of the world’s longest serving aircraft carriers. When you walk in, each person is given an audio tour device. We went on the family-friendly self-guided tour and took part in their junior pilot’s program where the kids answered questions based on the tour. After they answered all the questions they brought their paper back to the info center and were each awarded junior pilot’s wings. They even had a short ceremony declaring them to be junior pilots. We were there for hours and the museum really held the kids’ attention. Kids under 6 are free and we found kid tickets for only $6 and adult tickets for only $16 online using the Viator app. We saved $4/ticket compared to buying them at the museum.

Cost: 1 adult and 1 child ticket-$22.00

Old Town Sheriff’s Museum-2384 San Diego Ave, San Diego, CA 92110

Hours:Wednesday-Sunday 11-5 pm, closed Monday and Tuesday

Kids are free at this place and adult tickets are only $5. That’s what I’m talking about! Also, all of the proceeds from the museum and their gift shop go to the San Diego Sheriff’s department. It’s a pretty small museum, but the kids had a great time climbing on motorcyles, cruisers and even a helicopter. They tried on judges robes and sat on the bench and even got their mug shots taken. I had to practically drag them out of there when it was time to eat. A special thank you to the friendly and kind man working there who saw us outside the museum, waiting in the sun for our Lyft later in the day, and brought us three bottles of water.

Cost: 1 adult ticket-$5.00

La Jolla Children’s Pool/Seal Beach– 850 Coast Blvd, La Jolla, CA 920377

Hours: The Children’s Pool Beach is closed to public access during harbor seal pupping season, Dec. 15 through May 15, yearly.

My brother brought us to see the seals in La Jolla and the kids loved how close they could get to them. My brother and I loved snarkily hoping the seals would chase or (gently) bite the young hipsters who were invading their space a bit too much in the hopes of a great photo op.

Cost: Free

Cabrillo National Monument-1800 Cabrillo Memorial Dr, San Diego, CA 92106

Hours: 9-5 daily

This is my brother’s favorite place in San Diego. It’s a beautiful and peaceful spot with great views of the ocean and the Coronado Islands of Mexico. We played in the tide pools at low tide and saw lots of crabs and beautiful shells. The kids were too tired to make it up to the visitor center or historic lighthouse, but I’m told they’re quite lovely.

Cost: $10.00 entrance fee per car

Waterfront Park-1600 Pacific Highway, San Diego, CA 92101

Hours: 6 am-10 pm daily

My kids loved this playground overlooking the bay. It was a five minute walk from our hotel, so we visited four times during our stay. In addition to some really cool playground equipment and funky design, the park has a large fountain that kids can run and splash in.

Cost: Free

Unconditional Surrender Statue-55 Tuna Ln, San Diego, CA 92132

This is a very cool, giant statue right near the water and the Midway Museum . It’s a 3D rendering of the photo taken by Alfred Eisenstaedt in 1945 of a sailor so overcome by US victory in WW II that he just had to kiss the nurse standing next to him. The history was lost on my kids, but they had fun sliding on the giant stone bannisters nearby.

Cost: Free

Belmont Park-3146 Mission Blvd, San Diego, CA 92109

Hours: M-Th 11-9 pm and Fri & Sat 11-10 pm

This amusement park just outside Mission Beach reminded me of Coney Island. They have a historic roller coaster, carousel, about 10 other carnival rides, laser tag, mini golf, a ropes course, a climbing wall and lots of carnival food and games. Basically it’s a kid’s dream world. Unfortunately this is where V fell off a railing and fractured her elbow, so we didn’t get to enjoy most of the attractions, but we definitely plan on returning the next time we visit. This place wasn’t cheap, but it was a lot better than Sea World’s $65 tickets for everyone over 2.

Cost: $20/child for an unlimited ride wristband and $8/person for laser tag

Pre-accident photo op

B loved the rides and I loved the expressions on the face of the kid next to him!

 In Case of Emergency:

Rady Children’s Hospital-ER- Rose Pavilion, 1st Floor, 3020 Children’s Way, San Diego, CA 92123

I hope you don’t need to visit this place on your vacation, but, after their excellent job taking care of V, I couldn’t leave them out. Their emergency room is specifically for kids. They also have several urgent care facilities in the city. They treated V very kindly, but they didn’t talk down to her. She got to watch the movie Brave during her time there and got stickers each time she had to get x-rays taken:three times to be exact.

Cost: Shit, don’t ask!

Here is V unfazed by her elbow fracture and mesmerized by the glowing light of the television.

Though we never made it to the beach because of all the time in the ER, we still had a great time in San Diego, ate great food and made lots of memories, all without blowing our monthly budget.

I for one, am glad that I’m done traveling with my kids for awhile. I think we’re all ready to get back in a routine. I hope you’ve all had fun this summer and were able to make some great travel memories. Please share your travel adventures in the comments!

🙂 Erin

I can’t sleep, so I’m turning my obsessiveness to good use for you! Here are the best deals I’ve found on school supplies and an amazing site to help take the work out of back to school shopping.

If it’s too tedious to sort through this entire list, check out this website that has a school supply search engine. Search for any product and it will show you where you can buy it the cheapest! The search engine is pretty far down the page, so keep scrolling!

Also, Amazon has the best price around on glue sticks. Right now you can get a 30-pack of Elmer’s sticks for only $7.88. 

Washable Crayola Markers-99¢ online only

Paper 2-Pocket Folders-15¢ each

Mini Pencil Box-47¢

Notebook paper-82 cents

Composition Books-50¢

Crayola 24-count Crayons-50¢

Backpacks-$4.97

1″ binders-97 cents

Mead Binders-40% off

Composition Notebooks-67 cents

Pencil cases-67 cents

BOGO on pencils, folders, notebooks, pencil cases, etc.

Wexford Erasers-50 cents

Wexford Pencil Top Erasers-50¢

Dry Erase Marker-4 pack for 69¢

Play doh single or 4 pack-BOGO

Contigo and Thermos Water Bottles-BOGO 50% off

Wexford Backpacks-$3

1″ Binders-69¢

Elmer’s Glue Sticks-5 pack-99¢

Composition Notebooks-99¢

Crayola Colored Pencils-99¢

Avery Binders-15% off

Crayola Markers-99¢ not the washable kind though

Bic Mechanical Pencils 8 count-27¢

Cat & Jack kids tees-30% off expires 8/5

See my previous post for more ways to save at Target this weekend!

Notebook Paper and Printer Paper-1¢ with $5 purchase

High Sierra Backpacks-50% off

Index Cards-50¢

Post-It Notes-Buy 2 Get 1 Free

Composition Notebooks-25¢

Pocket folders-15¢

Family Sized Kleenex Brand Tissues-3 pack-$4

Quality Lightweight Headphones-$6

#2 Pencils-72 count-$4

Plastic 2 pocket folders, with brads-50¢ each

Pencil top erasers-12 pack-25¢ each

Primary Composition Books-I couldn’t find these at all at Walmart or Walgreens

Plus they have this coupon:

Now pray for me as I prepare to take all three of my kids with me school supply shopping tomorrow!! Stupid as hell? Why, yes Ma’am! Unfortunately, necessity dictates. Good luck to all of you on your school supply shopping adventures! God speed!

Update: I just got back from finishing our school supply and clothes shopping. I actually ran out (ALONE, SO GLORIOUSLY ALONE!) at 6:45 this morning and ran to Walmart, Walgreens and Office Depot/Max before my husband had to leave for work. Then I came home, grabbed the kids, said some prayers and drove to Target. There we picked up a few more school supplies, socks and undies for all, and then I let the kids pick out their new backpacks and first day of school outfits.

All together I spent just over $50 on supplies for both kids, and considerably more on back to school clothes and accessories. I swear, “But it was on clearance!”, should be my nickname.

Here are my shopping tips for you:

IMO, Office Depot/Max had the best buys! I’ve never shopped for supplies there before so this was a great surprise. I got 3 packs of notebook paper for only 1¢ each, 12 pencil top erasers for 25¢, 72 pencils for $4 and a bunch of other things,  and spent just enough to use the 30% off coupon which saved me another $9.00!

Side note: The coupon wouldn’t work at first because the headphones that both of my kids have on their lists weren’t considered school supplies(grrrr!), but the awesome manager at our local Office Max gave me the discount anyway!

Walmart had the best deals on markers, crayons and composition notebooks.

Walgreens had amazing prices on generic brand dry erase markers, binders and pencil cases.

You should visit Target for cheap colored pencils and 30% off Cat and Jack tees. They were also the only place I found the 1.4 oz. giant glue sticks that V needs for kindergarten, and had the best price on play-doh, also mysteriously on our supply list. The clearance clothes are only 30% off right now, but I’m sure those prices will be getting even lower if you wait a few weeks.

I hope you go out this weekend and take advantage of some of these great deals! I highly recommend going alone! Your wallet and any shreds of sanity you may have left after these kids have sucked all the life out of you, will thank you. And don’t forget, ALL clothes and shoes are tax-free this weekend, so treat yo’ self!

🙂 Erin

Good morning,

Don’t forget, this is a tax-free weekend in AR, FL, IA, LA, MO, NM, OH, OK, SC, and VA. The tax-free shopping doesn’t just apply to clothes, shoes and school supplies. It also includes appliances, like dishwashers and refrigerators, and emergency preparedness supplies. See the full list of qualifying products below for more detail.  In most states this runs Friday-Sunday, but in a few it’s only 2 of the three days, so be sure to check before heading out to the store.

What items are eligible?

• School supplies, clothing, and footwear 
  • Qualified school supplies – $20 or less per item
  • Qualified clothing and footwear – $100 or less per item
• Hurricane and emergency preparedness products  
  • Portable generators – $1,000 or less per item
  • Gas-powered chainsaws – $350 or less per item
  • Chainsaw accessories – $60 or less per item
  • Other specified hurricane preparedness items – $60 or less per item
• Energy Star™ and WaterSense™​ products 
  • Qualifying Energy Star™ or WaterSense™ products purchased for noncommercial home or personal use – $2,500 or less per item

I’m hoping to find time today or tomorrow to write a post comparing school supply prices, but for now I wanted to leave you with this great deal from my favorite app, the Target Cartwheel. If you’re not using the Cartwheel app, you’re truly missing out. Check it out today! This weekend they’re offering the coupons posted below.

This is a great deal if you’re already planning to buy your kids school clothes at Target, and seriously, how adorable is their Cat and Jack line for both girls and boys? Here’s some more great deals for back to school.

We’ve all been to Target intending to buy some paper towels and baby wipes and come out with fox-shaped salt and pepper shakers (They were on clearance!), a t-shirt covered in pineapples, three cases of La Croix and a box of wine. Why not maximize your savings on those impulse buys with a Target debit card? I refused the pleas of the cashiers for years before I finally got mine last October. I just didn’t want another card in my wallet. However, with this debit card, purchases just come right out of your bank account and you save 5% every time. It’s kind of a no-brainer, and I love seeing the total on the register change after I insert my card. Damn, I love saving money!!

Here’s another link the all of Target’s current promotions. My favorite is a BOGO deal on kids’ shoes.

Happy Saving!

🙂 Erin

PS-I am not affiliated with Target in any way and get nothing for promoting their stuff. I just really love saving and want to share the love with you.